School Report
by Midnight Whistles
Summary: Everyone get school reports, but having the Batman as his father makes parent's evening a pretty stressful time for Dick. A moment between Bruce and Dick concerning, unusually, not the hero part of their lives, but the civilian one.


**__****Hey guys :) Here's another short one. Hope you like it at least a little bit :p xx**

**_Gotham City_**

**_Wayne Manor_**

**_8:25pm_**

_"Richard John Grayson! _We need to have a serious talk young man!"

'_Oh crap!' _were the first panicked thoughts of Dick Grayson as he heard the man he'd called his father for the last four years holler his name. The man had just come back from attending Gotham Academy's annual parent's evening and from the sound of things, it hadn't gone quite as well as either of them had hoped. Slamming shut his laptop, he threw his legs over the side of his bed before hurrying to the door.

"Dick! Get down here!" Bruce yelled up, tired after a long day of work and frustrated after being faced with an hour of less than pleasing news concerning his ward.

Quickening his pace, Dick scampered down the stairs to pause momentarily outside of Bruce's office, where he knew the older man was waiting impatiently for him. Glancing behind himself one last time, as if trying to spot any possible escape route, Dick caught the sympathetic look that Alfred gave him from inside the kitchen. Dick made a mental plea to the elderly butler to make a batch of his infamous cookies. He was fairly certain that both he _and _Bruce would need them after this little 'chat'. With one final longing gaze, the boy took a deep breath before pushing open the sturdy wooden door to enter the room. Bruce had taught him long ago that slow, calming breaths worked very well to reduce nervousness and anxiety.

He was wrong.

Stepping into the dimly lit room (because hey, Batman was a man of the night), Dick easily spotted his father sitting in the chair behind his desk, glaring angrily at a piece of paper. His school report. The older man's shallow and uneven breathing pattern hinted that he too, was less than several tense moments, the billionaire finally looked up at his son before sighing wearily, dropping his face to rest in his hands.

"Take a seat Dick". The short sentence snapped the Boy Wonder back to reality. He carefully pulled out the chair opposite the muscled man and sat down gingerly, as if the seat was made of pins. Avoiding the heated stare of the elder man, Dick focussed on memorising each and every detail of his hands folded nervously in his lap as he waited for the inevitable lecture to begin.

Bruce Wayne studied the anxious child in front of him, pale and fidgeting, just like so many of the criminals he faced each night. But this was different; this was his son and he would have to deal with the situation differently. Sighing once more, the hero drummed his fingers lightly on the surface of his desk before speaking.

"I just don't get it, Dick" the older man started, causing the younger of them to shrink in on himself. Although he hated to see the boy he loved so dearly upset, the man knew he needed to go through with this. He needed to understand his son. He lifted up the report to hold it in front of him. "How does this happen? English - '_unfocussed and immature with language_', Science - '_seems to find concentrating in class a challenge', _Mathematics - _'frequently caught not paying attention in lessons'... _Dick! You're a mathlete for God's sake! What are you doing in these bloody lessons?" He thundered, before reminding the child sternly to look at him when he was speaking.

For Dick, the tirade was frightening. Yes, Bruce was one tough cookie and yes, he could be pretty strict at times, but he was never normally _this _angry. Well, not at Dick anyway. But now, he seemed furious and Dick felt himself curl in on himself as he frantically shook his head at Bruce's questions.

Seeing his boy distressed, Bruce instantly regretted the angry lecture. Maybe he was getting too soft, but it hurt his heart to see the child look so miserable. Deciding to try another tactic, the man who was Batman lowered his voice and tried again in a gentler tone.

"Look, Dickie, I know you're a smart kid, okay? One of the best around" he smirked, causing a small grin to appear on the Boy Wonder's face. "What I'm trying to understand, is why your teachers don't see the same intelligent boy as I do. Dick?"

The boy in question began to chew on his bottom lip, his eyes darting rapidly back and forth between the desk and his mentor's face.

"I..I..I'm not sure, Bruce. I'll do better next time. I promise" he whispered quickly, wringing his hands and hoping desperately that the older man would accept the apology and let him leave to the safety of his bedroom.

"That's not what I want, Dick, and you know it" the man reprimanded, before laying one of his larger hands on the child's. "Please, Dickie, tell me what's wrong. Are you finding it difficult to concentrate in lessons? Is someone bothering you at school? Just tell me what's wrong, son, please" he begged, anxious to help the boy.

For a moment, Richard considered simply running out of the room and to the nearest Zeta beam, but after a few seconds thought, he realised that the chances of him getting very far with the Batman on his trail were low. So instead, Dick opted to tell Bruce the truth, hoping that the man would understand.

"I'm bored in lessons" he spurted out so quickly that the elder man was only just able to make out what he'd said. "It's too easy, so I think about...other stuff" he trailed off, hesitantly. He truly was desperate to please his new father and while being 'bored' in lessons wasn't exactly an ideal excuse, it was better than lying to the man.

To say Bruce was angry at the statement, would be a contradiction. Rather, he was delighted. Ecstatic that his boy was not struggling to keep up with his studies or being bullied, but that he was, instead, simply not being challenged enough. Not that he would let his feelings about the situation show. Leaning back in his chair with a raised eyebrow, Bruce regarded to young acrobat sitting in front of him.

"If you're finding the work too easy, you should have told me. I would've spoken to your teachers. It would have helped them to understand - Heck, it would have helped _me _to understand, Dick!" he exclaimed, before writing a small note on the back of the report, reminding him to contact the school in the morning. "I'll ask the principal to ensure your teacher's challenge you a bit more, okay?"

Seeing he'd gotten off relatively lightly this time, Dick grinned, nodding his thanks to his father figure. Truth was, he really had been bored in lessons and craved the mental challenge of some more...stimulating work. Once he'd been given the assent from Bruce to leave, the hacker leapt happily from his chair before darting out of the dark room and into the living room to watch television, but not before grabbing a cookie from the tray that Alfred held where he stood outside of the office.

After a few hours of mind-numbing television, Dick was surprised when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, Looking up, he was confused to find the loving eyes of his father. While he knew that Robin would be off limits tonight as a result of the school issue, surely Batman would still be going on patrol?

Bruce, as if reading his young ward's mind, chuckled lightly before pulling the boy to his feet.

"It's pretty quiet out tonight; no big problems to deal with. I think it's about time that Batman had a night off to tuck his son into bed, don't you? I mean, after all, if someone doesn't keep an eye on him, he may forget to _pay attention _to the time, huh?" the older man teased lightly, a twinkle in his eye. He was rewarded by the giggling of the acrobat, who he led up the stairs and towards the boy's bedroom with an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Upon reaching his ward's room, Bruce waited patiently for the boy to finish changing into his pyjamas and brush his teeth in the bathroom that was connected to the room. Once this task was completed, the young hero bounded happily across the room before flopping onto his bed with a satisfied sigh. Rolling his eyes at the youth's antics, Bruce pulled the blankets out from under the wriggling child before pulling them over the top of him and tucking them up to his chin. Smiling one last time at the smaller male, Bruce turned to leave the room. Just as he was reaching the door, a small voice called him back, sounding much sadder than the laughing face that the man had just seen.

"Bruce? I'm really sorry I let you down at school" the young boy whispered, causing Bruce to make his way slowly back over to the bed. Where had that come from? One minute ago, the kid had been 'happy as Larry'. Sitting cautiously on the bed, Bruce regarded the younger male, who, to his shock, seemed close to tears.

"I'll try harder to be better. I promise! I can do bet-" but the acrobat's sobs were cut off as the boy was pulled into a tight hug, his face pressed against the older man's broad chest. Bruce sighed as he rubbed the kid's back in a soothing manner.

"Hey, Dickie, look at me now son" he spoke, gently tilting the boy's head up with a hand underneath his chin. "I know you're already trying hard at school, alright? I'm just happy that we worked out what we can do to help you in the future. You're a smart kid, Dick, and I'm very proud of you, you know that?"

Although his sobs had lessened slightly, the occasional hiccup or sniffle alerted Bruce to the fact that maybe the boy _didn't _realise how proud he was of him. Holding the boy to his chest once more, the older hero stroked the hacker's hair lovingly, the soothing action helping to lull the boy into sleep. As his ward became heavier in his arms and his breathing began to lighten, the older man leaned down so that he was right next to the boy's ear.

"You are the best son I could ever have hoped for. I love you Dick".

Carefully depositing his precious burden back onto the bed, re-arranging the blankets across the lithe form, Bruce stood up to regard his son with a fond expression. Maybe, just maybe, Batman could afford to take a few more breaks?


End file.
